Of the seventeen New York Times staffers who have made (potentially unethical) political donations this season, the majority favor Barack Obama, who received $4,072. Hillary Clinton, who the paper endorsed, only received $500. [Petrelis Files]
i don’t think it is “potentially unethical” for a reporter to make a political donation. I do think, though, that it is a potential conflict of interest. The conflict would come if the reporters making the donations, no matter who they are to, cover politics. If the reporters are on the sports or science or arts, etc. beats, then i don’t think (as a reporter myself) that it’s any big deal.
Posted: May 4, 2008 at 11:12 am
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i don’t think it is “potentially unethical” for a reporter to make a political donation. I do think, though, that it is a potential conflict of interest. The conflict would come if the reporters making the donations, no matter who they are to, cover politics. If the reporters are on the sports or science or arts, etc. beats, then i don’t think (as a reporter myself) that it’s any big deal.